The present invention generally relates to novel food products and apparatus and methods of their production, particularly to food products in the form of a food ingredient in an irregular and random pattern in a food material and their production, and specifically to food products in the form of a dye, pigment or colorant in a tie dye pattern in a refrigerated, thixotropic food material, preferably a cultured dairy product, and most preferably yogurt, and their production.
Food manufacturers are continually attempting to present food products in novel arrangements to enhance the marketing of the food products beyond the food material itself. As an example, such food products can be packaged in a manner that enhances its acceptability for consumption in new situations. Specifically, Yoplait USA, Inc. has marketed refrigerated yogurt filled in a tube package under the GOGURT and EXPRÈSSE trademarks. Such yogurt filled tube package articles can be conveniently consumed without the use of a spoon by simply cutting or tearing the end of the tube and manually squeezing the contents from the tube directly into the consumer's mouth. By virtue of not requiring a spoon for consumption, this food product is more acceptable to many consumers for consumption away from the home such as for carried lunches such as to schools. Additionally, such filled tubes often are easier to be included in lunch containers than conventional rigid cylindrical containers that also require eating utensils. Further, such filled tubes add a play value during the consumption of such food, which enhances the marketability to younger consumers.
Although marketing of yogurt in tubes has experienced considerable market success due to several factors including its uniqueness, ease of consumption without utensils, and the like, there is a continual need to present yogurt and similar food products in further novel arrangements to enhance the marketing of the food material. In this regard, filled tubes are often marketed in a package including multiple food products. It is then desirable that such packages not include multiples of identical products but rather include a variety of products. However, it should be appreciated that the cost of producing multiple types of many products such as yogurt is often prohibitive. Thus, there is a further need to present yogurt and similar food products in a variety of forms and in a manner that avoids the costs and other production problems of producing multiple products.
Furthermore, cleaning of food production equipment is always a concern, but is especially so for food products which require refrigeration such as yogurt. In particular, any food particles which are not removed from the production equipment are subject to spoiling and can result in contamination of the final product by being released in later production runs or by contaminating other food material which reduces its shelf life. Thus, a need exists to insure that food production equipment can be easily cleaned when necessary.